Global Spa and Wellness Summit 2012 – Just Back

Clear mountain air. Blue skies. Warm days. Endless wildflowers. And a roaring river outside my hotel window. I’ve just returned from the 6th annual Global Spa and Wellness Summit held in Aspen, Colorado. Before general session each morning, I took a run along the roaring fork river. Aspen was at its finest.

The summit is an invitation event where leaders in the spa industry gather to solve challenges, discuss the future of our industry and identify shared opportunities. The conference was held at Aspen Meadows, the campus of the Aspen Institute, home of the annual Ideas Festival. And wow, ideas were definitely generated. This year’s theme – “Innovation through Imagination” – offered inspiring sessions exploring the state of the economy, technology, creativity, health and happiness. Mariel Hemingway, granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, writer and wellness lifestyle advocate, spoke about living a natural life and her passion for yoga and mental health awareness. Dr. Daniel Friedland, CEO of Super Smart Health took us through the parts of the brain and proved to us that what we think about creates our reality. I’ve always known this but hearing it explained in factual, physiological terms was fascinating. It’s real folks! Dr. Andrew Weil spoke to us via video conference on the unfortunate state of healthcare in America, and how, as a result. health care truly is our individual responsibility and starts with educating ourselves on the importance of proper nutrition and healthy core lifestyle practices. John Kao, former Harvard Business School professor and Chairman of the World Economic Forum’s Global Advisory Council on Innovation shared new ways for us to think – using music and a basic melody to illustrate his point. Bottom line: we can enjoy a basic melody, or we can embellish the melody in a number of ways and see how it dramatically enhances the music and our experience and enjoyment of it while still retaining its original essence. This inspired me to look at the most simple things in a new way.

Including water.

Halfway through the conference, I gave a short presentation on the latest research, trends and mystery about water, facts about water, its chemistry, why all water is not equal and why its more important than ever to be aware of the quality of the water we drink. I also introduced an idea that I feel is key to understanding the healing power of water – its hydrogen bond angle. The hydrogen angle is the angle between the two hydrogen atoms. Water is H2O, one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms. According to some advanced researchers, nature’s perfect pure spring water has a bond angle of 114 degrees – enabling it to penetrate and hydrate our cells effortlessly and allows for seamless elimination of cellular waste products. The 114-degree angle aids circulation in the body which greatly prevents against circulation related disorders like Alzheimers, Parkinsons, blood clots, etc. Most tap water has a hydrogen bond angle of only 101 degrees and aside from the inherent toxins, doesn’t efficiently penetrate the cell. Yes, I’ll be writing more on this topic.

The last day of the conference I had my telomeres tested (see my earlier blog on this upcoming aging trend). I will know my true age in six to eight weeks (lets hope for the best). And finally, I made amazing new contacts and connected with industry colleagues I’ve known for years. The time connecting with people and catching up is always my favorite part…